Learn who to blame when your Android phone does not receive updates – Digital Look

If you use Android for some time or accompanies the technology market, you know that every system update is followed by millions of users frustrated with the failure to receive the new software. This is problematic:. Besides not having access to new resources, are also exposed to security breaches originating from outdated software

But after all, who’s to blame? Of google? From your phone manufacturer? From your mobile provider? Or who produces your components? It turns out that everyone has responsibility in this situation.

Let’s take as an example the current situation of the newly released Android Nougat. Few companies reported a complete list of devices to be updated; were the only Sony and HTC, and both made it very clear point: equipment more than two years will not be updated. It does not seem coincidental.

As analyzed and investigated the Ars Technica, some of the blame has to do with Qualcomm, the company that put their processors in most Android devices in recent years. The company shall not make the necessary adaptations to make viable the update for devices with chips Snapdragon 800 or 801, they were in almost every line of tops from the end of 2013 (the Nexus 5, for example, with the 800), to more or less half of 2014 (Moto X2, for example, 801).

How does the update of Android, after all? At the beginning of the new software distribution process, which the manufacturers of the chips of their products will support the upgrade. They get new drivers for the new Android function properly with the CPU with the GPU, with the modem with Bluetooth … well, you get the idea. These new drivers are passed on to handset makers, which make the mixture with the new code Android, play over their own system modifications and applications, and only then release to the user, since the system pass in Google compatibility requirements . If the phone is purchased with ties to an operator, it still goes through another stage before reaching the customer.

The problem is that if any of these parts in the paragraph above does not work, the update does not come out, pure and simple. There is no way the system continue to operate if one of the gears are not in accordance with the other.

And then we went back to Android 7.0. Why the Snapdragon 800 and 801 chips do not get the new drivers? The explanation of the own Qualcomm granted to Ars Technica following:

“Qualcomm works together with our customers to determine the devices supported by various versions of Android in our Snapdragon chipsets. The amount of time by which a chipset is supported and versions of an operating system available for a particular chipset is determined in collaboration with our customers. We recommend that you contact your manufacturer for information about support for Android 7.0 Nougat “.

The statement does not deny that Qualcomm does not support Android 7.0 on its chips 2013 and 2014 and open to interpretation the company is passing the responsibility to their customers, handset makers. In this case, the company could even offer the support, but the interest of the manufacturers was so little that was not worth it.

The question is problematic because it creates a vicious cycle in which it is impossible to upgrade a device with more than two years old:

• the handset manufacturers (Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony …) are not interested in releasing updates to older models because they are not very profitable, and more worthwhile to encourage the consumer to buy a new phone;
• the chip manufacturers (Qualcomm, MediaTek …) do not produce drivers for lack of interest handset manufacturers;
• handset makers who want to upgrade older devices can not for lack of these drivers.

So when you want to blame someone, you know that the responsibility is not only a business, usually . You must collect all the parties in this situation, because …

• The company that made your phone has no interest in updating it for a long time;
• The manufacturer from your mobile phone chip, which, seeing the lack of demand from automakers does not offer adequate support;
• Google increases the performance requirements for appliances, making older phones do not pass the test compatibility. This addition to creating this mess that is Android updates.